This invention pertains to a hand tool and the method of using the same to extract weeds and the like from soil.
Weeds can be pulled from the soil in which they have grown by exerting a relatively strong vertical force by hand on the main stem of the weed. However, some large weeds, bushes and the like are so strongly rooted as to defy such extraction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,382 shows a "V" claw type tool that has an upstanding handle. In use, the claw is forced beneath the soil with a horizontal motion and the stem-root engaged into the "V". Thereafter, a vertical movement upward of the handle lifts the weed out of the soil.
There is no mechanical advantage. Also, it may be difficult, or impossible from a practical standpoint, to use this tool if the soil is hard and compacted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,226 shows a rigid blade type weeder. It has a bent sharp blade that enters the soil adjacent to the root of the weed. The elbow of the bend may be used as a fulcrum, pressing upon the soil below the surface of the soil to dislodge the root horizontally. This tool is claimed for removing weeds from lawns.